Falling Out
by Arayllin
Summary: "Don't worry, we can work through this," his voice shook with the effort to stay calm, "the way we always have. Like a team. Our team."
1. Awakening

_**A/N: **This story is dedicated to my sister hisomi, who inspired the idea; and I am telling you right now that I have taken creative liberty with certain aspects. If this bothers you, don't read it. If it doesn't, I hope you enjoy! :)_

* * *

The first thing he noticed when he woke was the warmth. Even without opening his eyes he could feel it; he could tell he was laying on a mat underneath a thick, warm blanket. It was dark, and a fire crackled to his left, radiating heat into the air. Never could he remember having woken to such a lovely setting, and he was reluctant to open his eyes. In fact, he might have stayed where he was forever; had not a sudden tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his short reverie.

"Hey, James?" A voice, young and annoyingly familiar, called his name from somewhere above him. He did his best to ignore it, but the stranger would not be moved. "I know you're awake."

"No I'm not." The adult replied groggily, attempting to roll over.

But the kid wasn't buying it. "…yeah, right."

Screwing his eyes shut, James pressed himself into his blankets, only to have them pulled abruptly out from above him. Gasping unintentionally at the sudden chill, his eyes flew open. Snapping out of the haze he had awoken to, he recognized his position – as well as the "stranger" addressing him – at once, and he sat up quickly. As he had expected, he was met with the bewildered stare of Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum; James' worst adversary. However, he was also met with something else, less expected – a sudden throbbing in his head that forced him back into a prone position on the mat.

"Whoa, hey!" Ash leaned forward over him, a strange look of concern on his face (or, James thought it was strange). Attempting to ignore the twerp's apparent anxiety, James raised himself so that he was leaning on his elbows and avoided looking into Ash's eyes, opting instead to inspect the area he found himself in.

It appeared to be a campsite of sorts – two tents were set up on the opposite side of the fire from his mat. The flaps were wide open, and James could see that they were empty. Trees all around them obscured his vision from making out much more, and the dark of dusk made it all the more difficult to get his bearings. The twerp's friends were nowhere in sight, but then neither were his own team mates, so that didn't mean anything… did it?

"What have you done to me?"

There was a slight pause before Ash responded. "_Done_ to you?" He repeated, confusion apparent on his face. "I didn't do _anything_; we just found you like this!"

"What?" James blinked in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on beyond the spinning in his head. The last thing he could remember was being… somewhere. With Jessie and Meowth. They had been planning… something. Why couldn't he remember?

"_Chuuu_?" Without James' notice, Pikachu had climbed up onto Ash's shoulder, and was staring down at the Team Rocket member with a mixed look of sympathy and confusion.

"I'm not sure what's going on, Pikachu," Ash said slowly, responding to a question James hadn't understood, "and I don't think James knows either."

"What's that supposed to mean?" James swayed where he was sitting, and Ash frowned at him.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "I have no idea what happened; but I do know that if you don't lie down you're going to knock yourself out again."

"No, I'm fine." James insisted, feeling awful and yet stubbornly refusing to obey the child kneeling in front of him. "I just want to know what's happened!"

"Fine." Ash growled, sinking to a more comfortable position. "But I'm not saying anything until you lie down again."

"_Chuuu, pii!" _Pikachu nodded its agreement, and James scowled.

"If that's how you're going to be." He lowered himself carefully to the mat once more, secretly happy to be lying flat again. "Now, your turn."

"Right." Ash nodded. "I don't really have much to tell you, though."

"Just tell me what happened." James closed his eyes to listen, relying on the twerp's conscience to protect him from harm while he learned what was going on.

"Okay then, here goes: we were walking through the woods here a few hours ago – maybe around noon – when we heard a huge noise from somewhere ahead of us. It sounded sort of like an avalanche, but we had no idea where it was coming from.

"We figured it was nothing important, and we kept walking. We were hoping to get to the next town by sunset, but as soon as we reached the edge of the forest we found the path completely blocked by a huge pile of boulders."

Ash paused to take a breath before going on. "From what we could tell, they had fallen from the cliffs up there… I guess it really was an avalanche. Anyways, we were about to turn around and try and find another way across, when suddenly we heard something.

"Long story short, we found you unconscious under a pile of smaller rubble, half-hidden by it. Actually, we thought you were dead, but as soon as we realized you weren't, we… well, we brought you here and set up camp."

"…really?" James opened his eyes, looking up at the younger trainer in surprise. "Why would you–"

"You may be my enemy, but there's no way I could just leave you to die like that." Ash cut him off, speaking in a tone that implied his actions should have been obvious. "Nobody deserves something like that."

"I'm… touched." The tone of his voice sounded somewhat sarcastic, but James truly meant the words he spoke, and wondered if Ash could tell or not. _Oh well; it doesn't really matter._

"So, I'm guessing you have no idea what happened then?"

"Hmm?" James looked back to where Ash was sitting, thinking a moment before answering. "No, I don't. I must have hit my head when I… fell? Did I fall?"

"James, I just told you. I have no idea."

"Right."

"I'm pretty sure you either fell with the rubble, or it landed on you." Ash said after another moment of silence. "It wouldn't make sense otherwise."

"Mmm." James had closed his eyes by then, and Ash smiled gently at him.

"I guess I should let you get some sleep; you need your rest. Come on, Pikachu." Rising to his feet once more, Ash just about missed the man's final words before he drifted off one more:

"Thank you, twerp."

Pleasantly surprised, Ash's smile grew as he made his way back across the campfire to where his belongings lay. He was supposed to get everything ready for when his companions returned with food (they were out of provisions, and so were scavenging in the woods), but it hadn't been going so well so far… "Come on, Pikachu," he said again, in a quiet voice so as not to disturb James, "we've got a lot of work to do."

* * *

It was a loud, harsh noise that finally brought him to his senses, shocking him out of his sleep and causing him to sit straight up. It took a full minute for his surroundings to sink in, but only half as long for him to realize that he had no idea where he was.

Thick foliage surrounded him, cutting off almost all traces of sunlight, and the only sounds were the cries of invisible bird Pokémon overhead, the likes of which had woken him in the first place. No path or road of any sort was visible, reminding him all the more of the fact that he was lost.

Looking down, the cat Pokémon spent only a moment assuring himself he had no injuries before getting up. At once, his legs began to throb, but it lasted only a moment or so, and then he was ready to go. Moving around revealed that he was sore and stiff from… something, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't start exploring, and so that's what he decided to do.

"It's the best choice, really," Meowth told himself as stepped over a thick root, "how else am I gonna find my trainer if I don't start lookin'?"

* * *

She was awake as soon as the first rock made contact – whacking her hard in the arm, hard enough to leave a bruise at least. Without even having to look, Jessie knew that the move was _Rock Throw_, and that her best bet was simply to run.

Obeying instinct, she leapt up from the rocky ground she had been lying on, bolting away from the attacking Pokémon – a full group, it sounded like – as fast as she could. She didn't dare glance back to see what it was attacking her, but it didn't take her long to realize that she really didn't care.

_I just need to get out of here!_ Holding her arms over her head for protection, the Team Rocket member sprinted her way across the barren rocky surface of what she assumed was a cliff. As far as she knew, nothing pursued her, but the rocks continued to fly, and she could feel them pounding her on the back and legs as she fled.

"Would you leave me alone already?" She hollered to them without turning around. She knew she could always battle them, and maybe even catch one for her own, but it was hardly worth it. _I don't even know where I am,_ she reminded herself, slowing down as the distance between her and her attackers grew. _Or how I got here, for that matter._ _I need to figure this out._

Leaving the cliffside behind, Jessie walked along the surface until she reached a slope of sorts, decorated with a sparse amount of small trees. Leaning back against one to take a break, she tried to recall the events of the day that had caused her to black out on the top of a cliff, but to no avail. She couldn't even remember where her teammates had gotten off to.

"Those rotten losers probably left me behind," she grumbled to herself, "that would be just like them!" Looking out over the cliff, she could see a vast expanse of what appeared to be forest spreading out all around her. She was lucky she had run the way she had, or else she probably would have found herself on the cliff's unsteady edge, and from there, there was no place to go but down.

_I hope those two are proud of themselves._ Pushing away from the tree, she began trekking down from the mountain, her progress slow as she fought for balance on the rocky slope. After what seemed like forever, she finally reached the bottom, where the trees began. To her left, they stretched far as the eye could see, while to her right they thinned out, giving way to even more rocks and the wall of the mountain.

Two paths, two choices, two different ways.

_So, where do I go from here…?_


	2. Realization

"Hey, twerp?" Less than twenty minutes later, Ash was in the middle of putting up his tent when he first heard James speaking to him, and he turned around without thinking. The pole he had been rising fell, but he hardly noticed, or cared.

"Yes?"

"You haven't… seen Jessie or Meowth have you?"

"You woke up just to ask me that?" Ash smiled skeptically.

James, on the other hand, pouted for a moment before regaining his composure and clearing his throat. "Yes."

"Well, I haven't seen them." Ash shrugged his shoulders casually. "Sorry."

"That's all right; I'm sure they're around here somewhere." James responded cheerily, looking around the campsite. He was feeling a lot better already – the short nap, it seemed, had done the trick. Sitting up slowly, he found that his head was no longer pounding, and though he could feel a bump when he rubbed it, it didn't hurt nearly as much.

"You look good." Ash commented, and James couldn't help the smile that came to his face.

"I _feel_ good." He responded, feeling unusually comfortable in the other trainer's presence. "Thanks!"

"Oh, don't thank me," Ash turned away again, embarrassed, and made his way back to the tent pole that had fallen, "it was a team effort."

"Speaking of," James smoothed out his crumpled, dirty uniform as best as he could, "where are the other twer–I mean, your friends? Brock and Misty, was it?"

Ash waved a hand towards the trees, "Oh, they're just – wait. What did you just say?"

"I asked you where–"

"No, after that." Neglecting the tent pole once again, Ash was now facing James with a look of confusion on his face. "About Brock and Misty?"

"That's what I just said." James too was confused. "Where are they?"

"_Chuuuuu._" Suddenly, Pikachu was at James' side, and he instinctively pulled back from the electric mouse Pokémon while waiting to make sense of what Ash was saying to him.

"I agree, Pikachu." The boy said, taking slow steps towards them. "James, can you answer a question for me?"

"Uhh, sure?" Pulling the blankets off his lap, James crossed his legs and stared awkwardly up at Ash.

Ash sank to the ground beside him, holding out his hand and raising three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"…three?"

"Good. Now, what's my name?"

"Ash." _The twerp's flipped his lid!_

"What team are you a part of?"

"Why are you–"

"Just answer me, James!"

"Team Rocket!" The adult was getting exasperated – Ash was treating him like a child!; and for a ten-year-old, that was saying something. "Now tell me why it matters!"

"One last question first." Ash glanced down at Pikachu, who was still sitting to James' right. "_Pikakaa."_

"…yes?" James scowled, and Ash stayed silent only a moment longer before bursting out:

"What region are we in?"

"Kanto," James answered like it was the most natural thing in the world – which it was, "why, are we lost?"

"No, no," Ash sank back onto the grass, casting one last, unlikeable look at his Pikachu, "we're not lost. Or… I'm not, anyway."

Instant suspicion caused James to straighten even more. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Ash took a deep breath before going on, "there's something I think you need to know… and it's not going to be pretty."

* * *

Having chosen the shelter of the trees over the vast nothingness opposite, Jessie made her way down the path, a feeling of dread growing with each step.

_I am definitely being watched._

Whether or not it was true, her nerves were beginning to play tricks on her, and as every shadow became a lurking predator, she screwed her eyes shut and tried to block it all out. "Pull yourself together, Jessie!"

Though she would rather die than admit it out loud, she was missing James and Meowth bitterly. If they were around she would be sure of her safety – after all, nothing would come within ten miles of their rambunctious bickering. Smiling slightly at the thought, she opened her eyes again, only to be met with what was perhaps the most horrifying thing she had ever seen.

"Kyaaaaaaaaahh!" She shrieked, stumbling and falling backwards onto the ground. The dark spaces between the trees, which had formerly been empty and spooky, were now occupied with nothing but glowing sets of eyes – dozens of them.

Frightened beyond reason, Jessie yanked the pokéball from her belt, throwing it blindly ahead of her and shouting, "Arbok; SAVE MEEEEEE!"

However, when the ball burst open, and her Pokémon emerged from the bright light, it wasn't Arbok that came to the rescue, but a small, fluffy, winged Pokémon.

"_Wuuuuuu!_" It shrieked, and Jessie's eyes widened further.

_That's not Arbok…_

"_Wuuuuu, batbatbat!_" The small Pokémon glanced once at the cowering adult, before facing instead its opponents – the eyes in the trees. Without warning it began flapping its tiny wings incredibly fast, creating a large wind that Jessie quickly recognized as Gust.

"_Baaaat!" _It shrieked once more, covering the entire area with dust blown up by its move. Wasting no time, Jessie leapt to her feet and ran. She didn't have a clue what direction she was running in, and more than once tripped over a protruding root, or smashed into a tree trunk, but eventually she made it into a thinner area of wood. The canopy here allowed sunlight to penetrate it, and made for a much nicer stroll – nothing was hidden from sight.

_I like it here a lot better,_ she thought as she stopped to catch her breath, _there's a lot less-_

"_Wuuu!"_ Suddenly it was there again, and Jessie whirled around to face the small creature. She had never seen a Pokémon – she assumed it was a Pokémon – of its sort before, and she frowned at it. It wasn't scary at all; it looked fragile enough that she could take it down if it decided to attack, anyway. Not to mention that it had actually helped her back there… or had it?

"And what's your name?" She asked sweetly, a plan brewing even as she spoke. _If I could capture this Pokémon, there's no telling what it would be worth!_

"_Wuuu, bat!"_ The flying Pokémon exclaimed, tilting its body to the side in apparent confusion. Jessie, not understanding, continued to smile.

"Woobat, is it?" She gushed. "How cute!" _I'll bet it's worth a small fortune!_ "Thank you for helping me back there."

"_Wuuu?"_ The Woobat shook its head quizzically, then swooped down towards her belt, pressing its pig-like nose into the pokéball that remained there.

"Hey!" Jessie tried to pull away from it, but it was too late. The strange Pokémon was inside her pokéball, and it was… already caught?

"But that's… Arbok's pokéball?" Jessie was confused to no end, and she leaned up against a thick tree, staring at the ball. She only had one pokéball, and it belonged to the Arbok she had gotten for her birthday years ago. She had never owned any other Pokémon. So what was this… err, _Woobat_ doing inside of it?

_I must be dreaming. Somebody wake me up already!_

* * *

"I tink I passed that rock already…" Hardly realizing he was talking to himself, the cat Pokémon called Meowth came to a stop between two large trees. "I _know_ I've been here!"

He leaned up against one of them, pouting. If he had been lost before, now he was… well, even more lost.

"I've got no idea where I am!" He told the rustling trees above him, almost wishing they would respond and give him directions. He had been wandering for what felt like hours now (though for all he knew it could've been minutes, or even days), and he was getting nowhere. Still unable to remember exactly where he was or how he got there, he was getting incredibly frustrated with the way things were going. At this point, he would give almost anything to be reunited with his friends… his family… his trainer.

"I wish I could just – hey!" A sudden rustling behind him caused him to nearly jump out of his skin, and he hurled himself away from the tree, falling onto his face before scrambling back. "Who's dat?"

When no response came, he rose warily to his feet and peeked around behind the tree, careful to keep his distance, just in case.

Footsteps rose and fell in the trees just in front of him, and in a sudden surge of confidence, he jumped forward with outreached claws. Coming out on the other side of the trees, he found himself stumbling onto a small dirt path, staring up into the faces of two bewildered travelers.

One of them, a tall man wearing a dark suit, instantly bent down and reached out a hand towards him. "Why hello there," he said in a gentle voice, a smile on his face, "are you lost?"


	3. Optimistic

_Am I lost…? _Meowth stared up at the man in confusion for a moment, unsure how he was supposed to respond to the question. After a moment, he gave up thinking about it and just spit it out: "I suppose I am lost, in a manner of speaking…"

The travelers stared down at him for a moment, just long enough for Meowth to get a good look at them – the tall man in the suit, his green hair spiked back in a point; the young girl with the wild purple hair and the yellow bows… _wait a second._

"Did you just… talk?" The travelers exchanged a glance, instant recognition flashing in their eyes as they stepped back away from him.

"It's _that_ Meowth!" The young girl exclaimed, at the same moment Meowth shouted:

"It's you!"

Without giving them a chance to retaliate, Meowth leapt forward, tumbling into the man's arms and pressing his face into his chest. "Cilan! Iris!" Rubbing his nose against the familiar scent of the Pokémon Connoisseur, Meowth purred happily, not noticing the stunned look on the humans' faces.

"_What_ are you _doing_?" Iris cried loudly, bending over so she was eye-level with the cat Pokémon. A small green Dragon-type poked its nose out of her hair, and blinked slowly at Meowth.

"_Yewwwwww?"_

"Axew, buddy!" Grinning like a madman, Meowth reached forward and pulled the struggling Pokémon from its place and enveloped it in a hug. "It's so good ta see you again!"

"Hey!" Angry now, Iris yanked her partner back into her own arms, and then dumped Meowth out of Cilan's. "You have no right to just… show up like that and—"

"I know, I know," Much to her surprise, Meowth stared back up at her with apologetic eyes, "I shouldn'ta run off in the first place; you musta been looking for hours. I'm sorry."

"You're… what?" Iris raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused. "I don't get it."

"Meowth," Cilan followed Iris' earlier idea, crouching low to the ground, "what are you talking about?"

Strolling back to their side casually, Meowth pursed his lips. "I'm not exactly sure, Cilan." He said honestly, running through the events of the last few hours in his head. "I tink I mighta hit my head or somethin'; I don't remember why I ran away at all… if I even did." Frowning now, he looked over at Cilan. "Did I run away?"

"Run away from what… Team Rocket?" Iris was growing exasperated. "I have no idea what you're—"

"Shhh, Iris!" A theoretical light bulb flashed in Cilan's mind, and he rose quickly to his feet, gesturing for her to come closer. "I just had a thought."

"What?" Keeping one eye on Meowth, Iris leaned in as her companion began to whisper in her ear.

"I don't think this is the Meowth we know, Iris." His voice was clear, but Iris wasn't sure she had heard him right. Squeezing Axew tight, she whispered back:

"What do you mean? Of _course_ it's the same Meowth! How many Meowths do you know in Unova? _Who can talk_?"

"Let me finish." Cilan glanced once more behind him at the cat, who was sitting on the ground a few feet off, watching them curiously, but making no move. "I think it's the same Meowth, of course, but I think something's happened to him… he said he hit his head, right? What if he's confused? What if he thinks we're on the same team?"

"You mean he thinks _we're _on Team Rocket?"

"Or else that he's one of the good guys."

There was a pause as Iris considered the suggestion. "This could be a trap."

Cilan nodded slowly. "Could be, but I think we should go with it."

"But–"

"We don't have time for this, Iris! Let's just take it as it is; we might be able to do some good with this!"

"…okay." Iris nodded her consent slowly. "BUT! if this turns out to be a trap set up by Team Rocket – I'm blaming it all on you!"

"Deal." Backing out of the huddle, Cilan turned back to Meowth, faking a big smile. "Sorry about that, Meowth!" He said cheerily. "We were just talking about… err,"

"our next destination!" Iris cut in, her happy tone sounding perhaps a little _too_ forced. "We were supposed to be collecting firewood and finding some berries, but we've decided we should go straight back to camp."

"Right." Cilan nodded, casting her a quick smile in way of thanks. "We need to let Ash know you've returned safe and sound."

"Oh, that's okay, guys." Smiling just as large – albeit, genuinely, Meowth stood up. "I understand. I'm just glad to- wait. Did you say… Ash?" His eyes lit up, and he jumped up in the air with excitement. "You mean _Ash_ is back at the camp?"

"Well, yes," Cilan chuckled, "that is where we left him."

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Meowth cried, suddenly sprinting forwards. "Lead the way, Cilan – I can't wait to see my trainer again!"

Behind him, Cilan and Iris exchanged a baffled look.

Iris tucked Axew back into her hair, staring after Meowth. "Did he just say-?"

Cilan shook his head before starting after their newest travel buddy. "I'm starting to think this may be a little more serious than we think it is…"

* * *

"…Unova?" James frowned at the unfamiliar term. "Is that right?"

"That's the name of the region we're in right now." Ash nodded slowly, watching the older trainer carefully.

"Unova," James repeated, "it doesn't sound familiar at all…"

Ash, who was now sitting cross-legged by James' feet, shifted position. "You _must_ have hit your head," he said nervously, "I'll bet you've got memory loss or something."

"You mean… I've got amnesia?" James' eyes grew wide at the idea, and Ash looked back at him sympathetically.

"It sure looks that way to me."

"This can't be happening." Sitting upright with his legs folded under him, James held his hands up to his face, trying to hide the panic he could already feel growing.

"_Pikaakaa,_" Pikachu held out a paw and placed it on James' leg, causing the Team Rocket member to tense up, but then relax when he recognized it as a gesture of comfort.

"T-thanks, Pikachu," he said shakily, "this is going to take some – wait." Suddenly somber, he looked down at the mouse Pokémon, and then to its trainer, and back again. "This is a trick, isn't it?"

"…a trick?" Ash questioned. "What do you mean?"

"You're trying to trick me!" James jumped up from where he had been sitting, swaying a moment before gaining his balance and glaring defiantly at Ash. "You probably knocked me out and dragged me in here yourself!" He looked around the unfamiliar trees. "I'll bet we're in Viridian Forest, aren't we? AREN'T WE?"

"…uhh, no." Ash remained seated at James' feet. "No we're not. We're in the Giant Chasm, just off of Lacunosa Town."

"Right."

"I'm not lying, James."

"Right."

"I can prove it to you!"

"Rig- can you?"

"The pokéball, on your belt!" Ash pointed at the red-and-white sphere, an idea forming.

"Wheezing?" James looked down at the ball, wondering where Ash was going with this.

The young trainer sighed. "No, James; Wheezing is gone. That's your first Unova Pokémon in that ball."

"What?" Grabbing the ball from his belt, James stared down at it in confusion. "No it's not. This is Wheezing's pokéball." He spoke softly, perhaps more to himself than his company, but Ash shook his head.

"It's not," the boy said stubbornly, "it's a Yamask. A ghost-type Pokémon that you caught in Castelia City."

"…Yamask?" Continuing to stare at the pokéball, James swayed where he was standing, and Ash rose to join him.

"Look," Ash reached out gently and took the older trainer's arm, "you seem kinda… confused." He paused. "I can't say I blame you, but why don't you let me help?"

James pulled back away from him, glaring at Pikachu as well as Ash. "I can't trust you."

Moving to go after him, Ash hesitated when Pikachu suddenly spoke up. "_Pikaaa, pikaaa, chuu!"_

"…good point, Pikachu." Ash muttered to his partner, before turning back to face James once more. "I understand that you don't think you can trust us, James," he said evenly, meeting his longtime enemy's eyes, "but think about it this way. What other choice do you have?"

There was yet another pause as James considered this, then he sighed and allowed Ash to take his arm once more. As the younger trainer helped the older back to a sitting position, James handed him the pokéball in his hand.

"Would you throw it for me?" He asked, suddenly feeling tired. "I'm not sure that I want to…"

"Okay." Ash nodded, and after making sure James was seated, took the pokéball and tossed it high into the air. "Go, pokéball!"

The small clearing exploded in a flash of white light, which quickly faded and left all present blinking. In the dimness afterwards, a small black Pokémon hovered, staring cheerily around it while carefully balancing the yellow mask attached to its tail. "_Yaaaah._"

"W-what the-!" James' eyes grew wide, and Ash shook his head.

"Toldja so."

"Is this really… my Pokémon?"

"_Yamask. Yaaah."_

"You caught it, didn't he Pikachu?"

"_Chaaa, pikaa."_

James, continuing to stare at the Yamask, didn't respond, and Ash decided it was time to leave him alone for a bit. "Don't go anywhere, okay James?"

"Okay." The response was quiet, but there, and Ash slowly made his way back to the tents. He wished there was something else he could do to help James – not that he had done much of anything already. When he and his friends had found the trainer unconscious under a pile of rocks, they figured digging him out and bringing him to their camp would be enough. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case, and Ash got the feeling they were in deeper than they had thought they would be…

"Ash!" A sudden shout caught his attention, and he turned around to see Iris hopping tree branches towards him. Waving her arms at him, the Dragon Master-in-training leapt gracefully to the ground, landing directly in front of her friend. "We've got trouble!"

"You're telling me!" Ash hissed, taking her shoulder and pulling her closer. "James woke up while you guys were out, and he - wait. What happened?"

"We found Meowth!" Iris cried, forgetting herself in her excitement. "He was wandering around the forest, and he recognized us."

"…and?"

"no, you don't get it;" Iris shook her head angrily; "Meowth thinks he's one of us! He thinks _you're_ his trainer!"

"He _what_?" Ash pulled back away from her, eyes wide with shock. "There's no way! I'm not-"

"Well, _we _know that!" Iris said, glancing behind her quickly. "But I think Meowth hit his head or something, because he doesn't seem to. He thinks we're all one big team!"

"Man, this is so messed up." Ash groaned, sinking to the ground beside the still-unfinished tents. Looking down at him curiously, Iris crouched down beside him.

"Cilan's on his way with Meowth and Axew." She said, suddenly sounding cheery again. "And you said that James woke up?"

"Yeah, but he's got amnesia." Ash jerked a thumb towards James, who was watching both the youngsters dazedly.

"He's… got amnesia." Iris repeated dully. "This just keeps on getting better, doesn't it?"

"At least we know they won't be a threat for a while."

"Ash!" Iris was indignant at the comment, but Ash just shrugged.

"It's true and you know it, Iris."

"Well, yeah." The girl sighed, then lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "But we still need to be careful. We should do what we can to help, but don't forget that it could still be a trap!"

"James didn't _look_ like he was faking it."

"Looks can be deceiving!" Iris jumped back to her feet just as Cilan entered the clearing, Meowth trailing behind him and Axew clasped in his arms.

"We're back!" He announced for good measure. "And I've brought a new flavor into the recipe that is our journey!"

"Ash!" Suddenly unable to keep himself from grinning, Meowth threw himself at the young trainer, knocking both of them off-balance and into the tent Ash had been working on. Everything collapsed in a pile of fabric and fur, and Cilan and Iris watched in silence as Ash struggled to regain his balance.

"Glad to see things got done while we were gone, anyway." Cilan said sheepishly. "We had better get to work fixing that, hunh?"

"Oh Ash," Iris sighed over the sound of Ash's attempts to get away from the ecstatic Cat Pokémon, "you're _such_ a kid!"

* * *

_This is just getting _too_ weird. _Lost as ever, Jessie was wandering through the woods, trying her very best to gain her bearings without any help from the sky, ground or foliage. So far, it wasn't going so well.

"You see anything, Woobat?" She called to the small creature hovering a few feet ahead of her.

"_Wuuuuuuu!_"

"Okay, well keep looking." Having decided she would rather risk its company than be all alone, Jessie had let the unfamiliar Pokémon out of its ball again. She was all right with it helping her out, and would figure out what was going on with Arbok later. For now, she just had to figure out where she was – and why she kept getting attacked by Pokémon she didn't recognize.

"Have you seen any of these Pokémon before, Woobat?"

"_Bat, bat, wuu!_"

"Why am I even asking you this?"

"_Baaaaaaaat._"

"Oh, right. Thanks, I'd forgotten!" Resorting to sarcasm as always, Jessie pushed ahead of her teammate, hoping for a miracle. Or, at least to catch a glimpse of something that wasn't trying to kill her. Preferably her actual teammates, but at this point just about anything would do. It was getting darker every minute, and if there was anything she didn't want, it was to be stuck out here overnight, Woobat or no.

"Do you think we're almost at an exit?"

"_Wuuuuuuubat_!"

"…gotcha."

* * *

"You can stay here for the night if you like." Cilan stood over James, offering him an extra blanket and nodding towards the tents they had finally managed to set up. "Ash and I have extra space in our tent, and I'm sure we don't mind having one extra."

"You… don't?" James looked up at the green-haired trainer, a stranger to him despite knowing they'd met before. "I mean, I would really appreciate it!"

"Of course." Cilan smiled, offering a hand and helping James to his feet. He waited as James gained his balance, and then led him past the fire where his friends were sitting and into the second tent.

Ash and Iris watched them enter the tent without a word, painfully aware of the yellow Pokémon happily sitting between them, munching away on some berries they had found for him.

"This is pretty… weird." Iris said finally, opting for a word that no-one could take much offense to.

"Sure is." Ash agreed right away, staring up through the trees into the starless sky. "It's not every day your lifelong enemies come to you in a time of need."

"And by complete accident." Iris added, rubbing her hands together over the fire. "I don't even get it."

"What's to get?" Ash said simply. "It's a big mess, that's what it is. But we can get through it. Together."

"Like a team!" Meowth piped up, smiling up at his supposed trainer.

Instantly the mood died as Ash did his best to return the feline's optimism. "Yeah," he repeated, if not somewhat awkwardly, "like a team."


End file.
